---
title: "What is a cut label?"
slug: "what-is-a-cut-label"
tags: ["cut label", "cutlabel", "timestamp"]
updated: 2025-12-15T15:19:16Z
published: 2025-12-15T15:19:16Z
canonical: "support.lusid.com/what-is-a-cut-label"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.lusid.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What is a cut label?

In order to simplify the usage of LUSID in a global scenario (with times across multiple timezones), LUSID allows you to pre-configure *cut labels* which can then be used in place of timestamps. [More on date formats](/v1/docs/what-date-formats-are-accepted).

Cut labels allow clients to specify a timestamp to the LUSID APIs using a previously defined user-readable name. A cut label can be used wherever an [effectiveAt](/v1/docs/what-are-the-effectiveat-and-effectivefrom-timestamps) is supplied to LUSID, i.e. in both queries and [upsert](/v1/docs/loading-data-into-lusid) requests.

### Definition

A cut label is defined as

- A named timezone, and
- A specific local time in that timezone (expressed in hours and minutes).

### Usage

Cut labels can be used in place of [dates](/v1/docs/what-date-formats-are-accepted) in calls to LUSID. Simply replace the T separator with N, and replace the time component with the cut label.

For example:

- 2018-08-31T07:36:53.523415Z = Standard UTC timestamp
- 2018-08-31T07:36:53.523415+01:00 = UTC offset time
- 2018-08-31NSingaporeClose = Using the cut label identified with the code "SingaporeClose" and the local date of 31st August 2018

### Example

You can create and manage cut labels using APIs such as [CreateCutLabelDefinition](https://www.lusid.com/docs/api/lusid/endpoints/cut-label-definitions/CreateCutLabelDefinition). For a fully-worked example of using cut labels to compare relative transaction times in Singapore, New York and London, see this [Jupyter Notebook](https://github.com/finbourne/finbourne-notebooks/blob/main/V1/product/ibor/Using%20cut-labels%20to%20manage%20your%20business%20across%20different%20time-zones.ipynb).

You can also create and manage cut label definitions from the **System Settings > Cut Labels** dashboard in the [LUSID web app](https://www.lusid.com/app/home):

![](https://cdn.document360.io/d575ad81-c0ed-4980-bbd1-d59ac5c3de82/Images/Documentation/1507d02a-6f70-43e0-ad07-0240e8233109.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-09T06%3A00%3A18Z&se=2026-11-09T07%3A00%3A18Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=RGPMDYSRbJW55rRCeeTO9kLzFkjI%2BgnuTnpfiGO5ZX8%3D)